Black-Hearted Love
by cockycute
Summary: To protect herself from the feelings that she has for Rumplestiltskin, Regina tears out her own heart, but unfortunately, that doesn't seem to end her feelings for him.


After hours of deliberation, Regina overcame her fear of becoming a monster like her mother and locked her heart away just like Cora had. She couldn't risk having it inside of her anymore. It was compromising her judgement, making her decisions for her, and that was unacceptable. Regina had to remain in control at all times, no matter what the cost. She knew that locking her heart away hadn't brought her mother happiness, but anything had to be better than this. Better than holding out hope for a twisted little imp to realize that she was the last thing in the world that could fill the void in his heart. Regina shook these self-pitying thoughts out of her head, steeled herself and ripped her heart out of her chest. It was the most painful experience of her entire life. Without it, she felt empty, lost. She had just removed the last anchor to her humanity. This filled her with a sort of wistfulness. She would miss her heart, even after all of the pain it had caused her. She laughed, knowing that these thoughts were silly, just the last vestiges of the naive little girl she had been. Regina looked down at her heart, noticing that it was just as black as she thought it would be. She lowered it into the box, but stopped when she noticed something. Just the smallest flash of pink, but pink nonetheless. Odd. She would have thought that her heart would be completely black after all that she'd done. Regina thought back on all of the destruction that she had caused with a strange sort of detachment and wondered what could possibly have kept a part of her heart pink after all this time. She considered this for a second, then shrugged it off and put her heart in the vault with all of the others, hiding it in plain sight. There was a knock on her palace door, and Regina walked to the window to see who could possibly be knocking at this hour. Her lips curled with amusement when she saw that it was none other than the imp himself, out for a midnight stroll to the queen's palace. The guards let him in and she sat down to wait. This should be interesting. Regina smirked. Rumplestiltskin was many unpleasant things, but boring was definitely not one of them.

There was something different about Regina, that much was certain, but what exactly had changed was much less certain.

"To what do I owe this great pleasure?" Regina asked sardonically.

"Can't a man drop in on a friend without some ulterior motive?"

"Yes, but we're not exactly friends."

"Why Regina, I'm deeply hurt that you think that."

"What is it you want Rumple? I don't have time for your games." Rumplestiltskin was surprised at Regina's brusqueness. She would usually play along, at least for a little while. Just then, it dawned on him what had changed about her.

"You took your heart out, didn't you?"

"What, just because I'm not in the mood for your games, I must have taken my heart out. Really Rumple, even you can't be that egotistical."

"You did, didn't you!"

"So what if I did? I don't see how it's any concern of yours."

"It isn't my concern, I just think you're being incredibly stupid."

"How, exactly, am I being stupid?"

"The best way to protect your heart is to keep it inside of your body. It makes it much easier to keep track of. Besides, are you really so insecure that you can't handle having it inside of you?"

"It's not insecurity, it's pragmatism. After I took it out, I noticed that it wasn't completely black. There was a small amount of pink in the center of the heart. That pink will destroy me. Something you would know if you even had a heart to begin with."

"I can assure you, dearie. I have a heart, and, unlike you, I can handle having it inside my body. Who cares if it's a bit pink. Knowing you, it should be completely black in no time. Trust me, dearie, Cora removed her heart, and it didn't stop you from banishing her. Where you keep your heart doesn't matter. It affects your decisions no matter where it is. It's just easier to protect if you have it with you."

"Is that your favor?" Regina sneered.

"No, it's advice, and I suggest you take it." Rumplestiltskin didn't realize how close they had gotten during their argument. He was just inches from Regina's face. All he would have to do is lean in, just a little and he could find out if removing your heart really did remove all of the feelings that came with it. Rumplestiltskin decided to test his theory, he could taste her soft, full lips on his for just a second before she pushed him off.

"You disgust me, you imp! You think that I would ever want to kiss you, even with my heart? You're even more desperate and lonely than I thought." Regina went to get her heart in an ill-advised attempt to prove that she had no feelings for Rumplestiltskin, with or without her heart. She pushed her heart back into her chest, and everything came rushing back, full-force. Regina gasped, trying to readjust to having a heart.

"It seems you aren't as detached as you thought, dearie." Rumplestiltskin chortled.

"You pathetic excuse for a wizard." Regina whipped around, ready to rip out his blackened heart if the need arose, but she miscalculated how close Rumplestiltskin was and found herself almost touching him. She slipped her hands around his throat, so overwhelmed by her anger and passion that she was ready to strangle him for worming his way into her heart, but instead of strangling him, she kissed him, surprising herself as much as Rumplestiltskin. Regina's hands loosened, but remained around his neck in a sort of embrace. All of their pent-up confusion and loneliness was released in that one kiss. That kiss that finally filled their blackened, empty hearts, even if it was just for a few seconds. Knowing that every second he spent with Regina just opened the void wider, Rumplestiltskin pulled away and left without a word knowing that if he stopped to say goodbye, he might not have the willpower to leave at all. He knew that the emptiness in his heart would just keep growing unless he finally let someone into it, but letting some in would be a gamble. After all, he could never know for sure that Regina wouldn't just leave him even more broken than before and he wasn't willing to bet the only thing he still had on it. After all, betting on the unknown takes courage, and Rumplestiltskin had always been a coward. Even though he was sure that Regina loved him in her own, twisted way, he knew in his heart of hearts that she loved her power more and that she would choose her power over him every time, just like he had with her, because she shared that blind ambition with him, and even though it was that ambition that made them so work so well together, it was also the thing that would keep tearing them apart, because to be together they would have to give up their power which neither one of them would do because it was the only thing that either one of them had left.


End file.
